Thursday, January 30, 2014

“State of the …” speeches become nothing more than partisan rhetoric?

There
are those people who are blasting Gov. Pat Quinn these days for having the gall
to use his official State of the State speech to the General Assembly for
political purposes. How dare he want to get re-elected!?!

OBAMA: Ignoring opposition?

Just
as there are those who are trashing President Barack Obama for giving a State
of the Union address where he basically expressed his intent to take action on
select issues without the approval of Congress. So that his presidency doesn't end in two years with nothing more being accomplished.

IT
IS DIFFICULT, if not impossible, for me to take these people seriously, however,
because of their own political motivations.

Tuning
in to the television news on Wednesday and seeing Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas,
lambasting Obama for not being willing to work with Congress? Ted, Shut up!!!

The
same goes for those people who are upset that Quinn basically used his annual
address to legislators to talk about things he’d like to do – but likely won’t
be able to – because his political opponents won’t want him to have government
policy victories right in the heart of the current electoral cycle.

I
think this makes the Republicans at both the federal and state levels look
incredibly petty to engage in such rhetoric. I comprehend the concept of the
opposition political party making a statement.

AND
I DON’T expect the opposition to come out and say what a wonderful guy the
president/governor truly is.

But
the degree to which partisanship has overtaken the process of a government
chief executive making a statement about where things stand and where they will
go in the future has truly become appalling.

QUINN: Electioneering?

We’re
at the point where I was repulsed by the congressional opposition complaining
that Obama wants to exclude them – even though in both actions and statements
they have made it clear they have little to no interest in working with the
president on much of anything.

If
anything, the reason some people are losing faith in an Obama presidency is the
perception that he’s too weak to stand up to his opposition – that he’s merely
willing to let himself get smacked around.

THE
STATE OF the Union address may be evidence that Obama has finally come to his
senses. He realizes the people (or at least the ones who aren’t determined to
believe their ideologue minority is the only one that deserves to be listened
to) expect some action.

CRUZ: Blasting Obama for ignoring him

A
year of inaction on immigration reform? No action whatsoever on issues such as
the minimum wage or long-term unemployment insurance? The people are disgusted
that there has been nothing from government – we definitely do not want more of
the same!

And
for those people who try arguing that Obama is exaggerating the opposition he
gets from Republican congressional members, I’d only remind them of the
ridiculous levels of hostility that have been directed toward health care
reform – an issue that truly needs to be addressed.

Except
for those ideologues who are desperate to believe that people lacking in
adequate health insurance are somehow unworthy of it. As though they brought
that condition upon themselves.

THE
SAME GOES for Republicans who even before Quinn gave his address to the General
Assembly were trashing him for wanting to use a speech to make himself look
good. How else to explain former Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, saying he wanted Quinn to only make "detailed and responsible" statements during the address -- as though he gets to define those terms.

In
short, they don't want Quinn to use the advantages of incumbency while running against assorted Republicans
and a Democrat – all of whom were present for the address.

CROSS: Define 'responsible'

State
Sens. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, and William Brady, R-Bloomington, along with
state Treasurer Dan Rutherford, were among the officials expected to be there,
while his Democratic challenger, Tio Hardiman and venture capitalist Bruce
Rauner were likely sitting in the gallery watching the annual event – while fantasizing
how they will be giving the same speech next year.

Quinn
hinted before giving the address that he’s interested in bolstering the concerns
of the middle class. Just like anyone else would say – except then they wouldn’t
be so eager to pile on with the criticism.

I am a Chicago-area freelance writer who has reported on various political and legal beats. I wrote "Hispanic" issues columns for United Press International, observed up close the Statehouse Scene in Springfield, Ill., the Cook County Board in Chicago and municipal government in places like Calumet City, Ill., and Gary, Ind. For a time, I also wrote about agriculture. Trust me when I say the symbolic stench of partisan politics (particularly when directed against people due to their ethnicity) is far nastier than any odor that could come from a farm animal.